


Hothy the Holiday Holovid

by NeverForgetStarkiller



Series: Gingerpilot Holiday 2018 [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Gingerpilot, Hux is a Prisoner of the Post-War Galaxy, M/M, Poe is One of the People in Charge, Star Wars Universe Post-First Order Takedown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 09:54:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17180738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeverForgetStarkiller/pseuds/NeverForgetStarkiller
Summary: Day 2: Holiday Holovids and MusicArmitage Hux was a difficult prisoner. Even on Life Day.





	Hothy the Holiday Holovid

It was nice to take a break from work during the holidays. That was what most people thought, anyway. Finn and Rose had taken the opportunity to go off and celebrate together for the first time since the First Order had fallen. Snap and Kare had gone to their new home, and they hadn’t decided yet if they’d come be back once the holiday season ended. Rey had left at the end of the war. Finn believed she’d gone off to start her own academy for young Force-users so that no other children would have to grow up with their powers alone.

Most people Poe knew were gone, in fact. He and Jess and a few hired guards were all that remained in the center of operations. The Prime Republic – that was their working title. Without Leia Organa they didn’t have a princess to take control. Poe was the closest thing they had to a leader, and he didn’t want to lead a Republic. He wanted to fly. Maybe once the holidays were over and people started coming back, Poe could give a try at convincing Snap to step up. If anyone had it in him to run the galaxy, it was Snap Wexley. Not Poe Dameron.

Across the room, a door snapped open, and a guard stormed out. “I give up,” the guard said. He headed straight through the room Jess and Poe were lounging in. They were both lying on separate couches, watching a holovid.

Jess sat up. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” said the guard. “Nothing new. But, if I don’t take off, I’m going to punch that smug bastard in his face. It’s Life Day; we shouldn’t even be here.”

“Hey,” said Poe. “Go home, buddy. Don’t let him get to you.” The guard nodded, still looking like he might punch the nearest wall. Poe got up and walked to him, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “I mean it. We’ll handle things. You should go home and enjoy your time with your family.”

If Poe still had family, that’s where he would be. Jess, too.

The guard gave a grateful nod, gathered his things and left. Jess shook her head. “Do you want me to take care of it?”

“No, just tell me if I miss something,” said Poe. He left her on the couch as the holovid played in the background. Poe hummed the tune from the vid and walked down the hall, finding where the guard had flung the prisoner’s food.

They kept exactly one prisoner on-base because the rebel in Poe still wasn’t sure that they could trust the galaxy’s most dangerous prisoner to any typical prison. Poe knew firsthand that escape from those high-security, private prisons was easy enough. He'd broken into and out of a planetwide prison once. And, while he could look back and think,  _Good times,_ it didn't give him much confidence in the whole system of incarceration. He preferred to keep the Republic's worst enemy close. 

The Ex-General of the First Order was seated upright on his bed when Poe walked in humming _Hothy the Snowman._ Armitage Hux glowered, his lip curling in disgust at the sight of Poe. Hux was a pale imitation of the posters Poe had seen a few years back -- even in a literal sense. His skin was so white it was beginning to look grey, his colorless eyes never showing anything but distaste. He’d proven himself to be a difficult prisoner to keep. Not because he was any good at finding a way to escape: without the Force, there wasn’t much he could do about that in here. But, something about him rubbed people the wrong way to the point that they couldn’t stop themselves from striking out at him. And, even if the First Order thought it was okay to hit prisoners, the Republic couldn’t. It had to be better than that. So, instead, they went through guards like the Empire went through officers.

“That’s the sixth one this month,” said Poe. “You can’t lighten up during the holidays?”

“Holidays,” Hux spat like the word tasted foul in his mouth. “You celebrate holidays while entire planets starve beneath the weight of your _freedom._ ”

“Ah, so we’re feeling political today.” Poe set down the tray of food. “Today might not be the best day for that, Hugs. Just eat and think about somewhere snowy. Maybe somewhere that wasn’t a planet you killed to install a star-sucking death ray.”

Hux didn’t move toward the food. Poe had never had much luck getting the man to eat. From the looks of it, no one else had, either. Hux was as stubborn as he was hateful. He’d always been skinny, but he’d slowly gotten thinner and thinner since he’d been taken into custody. It wasn’t uncommon for prisoners to try to wither away. Dying was the ultimate escape plan. That didn't seem like Hux, though. Hux was a survivor.

“You’re going to have to eat something today.”

When Hux still didn’t move, Poe shrugged. "Guess I’m going to have to hang out in here with you, then." The prisoner didn’t so much as blink.

 _Alright, then,_ thought Poe. He sat down on the bed and held back a smirk at the way Hux slid farther away. Then Poe took out his personal holoprojector, set it down, and started playing _Hothy the Snowman_ from the spot it’d been at when he left Jess. He chuckled at the affronted scowl on the former general's face.

“What _is_ that?” Hux hissed.

“I’m finishing my vid since I’m going to be here a while.”

Poe didn’t have to look away from the vid; he could _feel_ Hux’s eyes narrow. The redhead didn’t say anything, and he didn’t eat. If Poe didn’t know better he would’ve thought that the man was watching the holovid.

“So, you’ve got something against the holidays? Or just happiness in general?” asked Poe after a few minutes.

“It’s a pointless celebration of nothing.”

“Sure,” said Poe. “Or, you know, life. Family. Happiness. You expect me to believe you’ve never celebrated Life Day?”

“I wasn’t born on Kashyyyk.”

“The whole galaxy likes to celebrate. Everyone likes life. Or, at least most people.”

“That is not what snowmen on Hoth look like. They’re vicious, man-eating monsters.”

“Well, Hothy’s an actual snowman that the kids made from snow. Pretty sure the song’s coming up; it’ll sum up the whole thing for you.”

“Aren’t you old for this sort of holovid?”

“Not really.”

“The target audience is clearly children between the ages of two and ten.”

Poe glanced at Hux. “Didn’t realize the First Order was in the business of making animated vids.”

“There is little that the First Order never did.”

“And, nothing it’ll ever do again. So, if you  ever do change your mind about talking…”

“If you still think I’m protecting Ren, you’re insane. I don't know where he is.”

Poe leaned back and watched the holovid. From the corner of his eye he saw Hux’s hand move. It inched its way toward Poe’s hip, where his blaster was holstered. It would be a good day to escape, too. The one day that the base was almost empty. If Hux could grab the blaster and shoot his way out, he might be able to get pretty far before he got captured. Poe saw it coming, though. He caught Hux’s hand with his own, intertwining his fingers with Hux's cold, pale ones, and stopping Hux's reach for the weapon. “Now, you’re getting in the spirit, Hugs.”

Hux wrenched his hand away like touching Poe might contaminate him.

The song played as the characters on the holovid said goodbye to Hothy, and Poe sighed. In a perfect world, he’d be at home this Life Day. His parents would both still be around, and they’d be huddled around a holovid with warm, milky caf, laughing and singing. But, the world wasn’t perfect. At least Poe was fighting to make it better. Kes Dameron and Shara Bey were part of the Force, now, and they were watching. Poe knew they'd be proud of him. They always were.

“Alright,” said Poe. “Happy Life Day, Hugs. Maybe this time next year you’ll be in a better place.”

“Maybe I'll be dead, you mean.”

“War criminals who blow up entire star systems do get executed in most government policies. At least from what I understand.”

“Then there’s no point in me eating this pathetic excuse for sustenance.”

“Sustenance? That’s food.”

“Whatever it is.”

“You know, a lot of people didn’t get executed after the New Republic was founded. Who knows? Maybe if you tried, you might make some friends here. People who wouldn’t vouch to have you killed.”

“Like _you_?”

“No,” said Poe. “You did a pretty bad number on a lot of my friends. So, I’m definitely going to be on the other side of that. Maybe someone, though.”

Hux took a deep breath. “Poe Dameron.”

“Yeah, Hugs?”

“Perhaps I will eat if you explain to me what this food is.”

Poe glanced back at the redhead, and, for a moment, the former general didn’t look intense and spiteful. He looked… Normal. Like a person Poe might see in a cantina on any given night. Poe nodded. “Fine. Deal.”

“And, play that holovid again. I want to study it.”

“Study it? You know it’s okay to admit you thought it was cute, Hugs.”

“Don’t presume to know what I think,” said Hux.

“Fine,” said Poe. “I won’t. But, it’s cute that you think the vid’s cute.”

“What?”

“You’re cute,” said Poe, relishing the pink tinge to Hux’s cheeks. “For such a bad guy.” Poe sat back down. “And, hey, maybe next year… Who knows? Maybe you’ll still be here, and I’ll still be here, and we'll do this again.”

“That’s a miserable plan.”

“Sure is. Something to look forward to.”

Hux took a cautious bite of bread and watched as Poe started over the holovid. Poe wondered how Hux had never seen the vid before. The redhead must not have had much of a childhood, Poe thought. Maybe learning about Life Day would be good for him, then. Somehow. 

That was the flipside of keeping the enemy close.  _There, that wasn't so bad._ Poe walked out and took the half-empty tray of food to the kitchen. Jess was asleep on the couch, communicator in her hand like she had been waiting in case Poe needed her. Poe smiled and walked over. He slid the communicator from her hand and threw a blanket over her. 

"Poe," Jess whispered, stirring. 

"Go back to sleep," said Poe. 

"You're okay," she said, eyes still closed. 

"Yeah. I'm fine. I can handle Hugs. You get some rest." Poe laid down on the other couch. It would be a year before the next Life Day, and a lot could change in a year. But, if it didn't... If Life Day next year Poe was here again, and Hux was too difficult a prisoner for anyone but him... Even if Hux had the same dozen criticisms on the next five viewings as he had after the first five... Poe thought it might not be so bad to spend the holiday in a cell, watching cartoon vids. In all honesty, he looked forward to it. 

 

 

 


End file.
